THOMAS HAMPSON Autograph - to be released on Warner Classics this March. Encompassing opera, operetta, song, oratorio and Broadway musicals, this special collection – Thomas Hampson has personally overviewed the track selection – showcases his remarkable versatility and highlights some of his greatest operatic roles.

NOTTURNO. "This may be one of the finest recordings in the extensive discography of Thomas Hampson, and anyone with even a passing interest in Strauss's songs should consider adding this to their collection, no matter what other treasures might already be there." - Fanfare

WQXR has posted an archived recording of Thomas Hampson’s acclaimed Carnegie Hall recital (February 9) featuring the world premiere of Jennifer Higdon’s song cycle Civil Words, set to texts from the Civil War. He was joined by pianist and frequent collaborator Wolfram Rieger for the performance.

The evening program featured works based on the theme of wartime, from a variety of composers including Strauss, Mahler, Hindemith, Ives, and Vaughan Williams. The recital was received with tremendous acclaim:

“In classical music, the difference between art and artifact is made up by context . . . But give that music some meaning in terms of our own memories and cultural experiences, and it comes alive. No one in classical music does this better than baritone Thomas Hampson . . .” (New York Classical Review)

Thomas Hampson Autograph – to be released on Warner Classics this March

February 27, 2015

Thomas Hampson is one of today’s most innovative and insightful artists. He is admired for his engaging performances and his commitment to music research and education, which have a tremendous impact on the field. He is regarded as “one of America’s foremost cultural ambassadors.” (Operavore)

Autograph, a new CD box set from Warner Classics, is a special, signature audio collection – Mr. Hampson has personally overviewed the track selection – that showcases his renowned versatility. The set highlights some of his greatest and most revered operatic roles, as well as much-loved performances of operetta, song, oratorio and Broadway musicals. The set also includes an interview documentary by Jon Tolansky, which offers fascinating insights into Hampson’s remarkable career and achievements.

‘Impassioned’ and ‘significant’ performances in Florida

February 17, 2015

“Sunday afternoon, Hampson brought a sampling from the spectrum of American song and a major vocal-orchestral work by John Adams to the New World Center in Miami Beach . . . He opened with My Days Have Been So Wondrous Free . . . In superb form, Hampson’s warm, resonant baritone and innate feeling for the idiom were entrancing. With the audience in the palm of his hand, he launched into a rousing version of The Dodger from Aaron Copland’s 1950 collection of Old American Songs . . . In Flanders Fieldcontrasts the once beautiful poppy fields with the multitudinous crosses of the dead. Hampson’s superbly clear diction, attention to dynamics and impassioned advocacy mirrored the songs’ uneasy contrast of patriotism and tragedy.

Following intermission, Hampson was joined by conductor Michael Tilson Thomas and members of the New World Symphony for Adams’ The Wound Dresser . . . Now stentorian, then dulcet, Hampson imbued Whitman’s imagery and the lyrical vocal writing with understated emotion. His voicing of Come sweet death, come quickly was chilling.”

Highlights from recent NYC performances

“In classical music, the difference between art and artifact is made up by context . . . But give that music some meaning in terms of our own memories and cultural experiences, and it comes alive. No one in classical music does this better than baritone Thomas Hampson . . . Hampson and Reiger played some explicitly martial music, but for the most part they gave the audience music that turned war from policy into consequence: loss, death, haunted memories . . . There were two Langston Hughes songs, “The Negro Speaks of Rivers,” composed by Margaret Bonds, and Jean Berger’s great “Lonely People.” Bonds’ song may not be a masterpiece, but Hampson sang it like one . . . A true masterpiece finished the concert, Bernstein’s setting of an unpublished Whitman poem, “To What You Said,” from the composer’s Songfest . . . Bernstein’s song is one of the great art songs, of any time, in any language, and Hampson’s singing it is always one of the great experiences in music.”
George Grella – New York Classical Review

BBC HARDtalk - Thomas Hampson
Sarah Montague speaks to opera star Thomas Hampson who says the way to get people to love opera is to get them to understand it, and then it has the power to transform. If Hampson is right, could one of the most elite and expensive art forms have worldwide appeal?